Did I mention I’m reading Shakespeare to my friend, Nelson Mandela?

I saw a report recently on the BBC about a survey of 1,500 adults and teenagers on their reading habits, and it had a very interesting finding (result): Almost half of all the men and about one-third of the women said they had lied at one time or another (at some time in the past) about the books they were reading in order to impress friends or potential romantic interests.

Among the men, it was most likely that they were trying to seem more intellectual or romantic, according to the survey.

Just in case you’re interested, the men said that they would be most impressed by a woman who reads news websites, Shakespeare, and song lyrics.

The women said they would be most impressed by a man who was reading Shakespeare or Nelson Mandela’s biography.

Finally, the survey found that both men and women would instantly fall in love with anyone who said they listened regularly to ESL Podcast. So now you know what to say the next time you meet a beautiful man or woman of your dreams.

For sure Jeff, it is a extremely good way to impress an iteligent woman saying that you not only listen the ESL podcast but also read the ESL Blog as well as post coments.
We can realized how things have been changing in a short period of time and your explanation about this topic is an example.
I believe that nowadays people don’t care if you really did something like read a book or something like that, the important thing is looks like beauty spend money and so forth.

I don’t need to lie, on the contrary, I’m very proud to say that I have been listening The ESLPOD and my english skills is getting better!

Effectively, Jeff, every time I tell a woman I’m listening to ESL Podcast, she inmediatly falls in love with me. It´s amazing! The only bad thing is I have it as a secret and thus I can´t obtain a good results.
In any case, reading is one of the best ways to become a wiser person, by acquiring at least a small part of other people’s wisdom and expertise. At the begining, reading is boring, but little by little it becomes a fantastic experience, because most writers tried to offer the best from themselves when they wrote such books.
Best regards from Spain,
Julio.

Well,what can I say about the final joke?Very funny Jeff,very very funny.
Anyway,well…I enjoy reading very much,especially fiction,all kinds of fiction:mystery,romance,crime,adventure,science fiction…,but I wouldn’t lie about what I read in order to impress someone,never.What would happen if you got caught red handed?The other person
could have read that book in particular and said something along the lines of:”Oh, really?I’ve also read that book.It was very interesting,what is the part you like most?” and I don’t want to imagine what could happen after that.
No thank you, I just like the way I am,and even though I’d like to improve certain characteristics of my personality or behaviour,I wouldn’t lie about that,that would be like lying to myself.Well,let me think about it …oh yeah,I remember now,I must admit that some days ago I lied to someone in order to seem more interesting,well,in fact sometimes I do that,but not about the books I read.”So, what did you lie about?”(you may be asking)Well,I prefer not to tell you right now ,but it’s something closely related to english, and in fact I’m planning to do that in the near future.So,I suppose it wasn’t completely a lie.When that happens,I promise to tell you this thing,right here on this blog.

Well, let me express what about my reaction when I just finished to read this end’s blog:

…..kkkkkkkkkkkkk, rsrsrsrsrs,heheheheh,…..hauahauhau!

Jeff, rsrsrs…. you are simply the best of the bests to make us cheerful and smiling in whatever it`s the moment we`re reading anything that you write or say. Not because of those great jokes you always do but by the humor you lead in either whatever it`s the case or the situation as well as whenever it is …. you always find out some sort of key point to make it funniest than it really should be. I loved the end up of the survey… it was awesome, hilarious and whatsoever it is a funny stuff to read.

Thanks a lot for your infinity great humor as usual.

Now about the context, I was wondering if I came up to a girl ( my dream`s girl) and said to her that I Knew a lots of Shakespeare and whatever it was the other romantic subject about readings; and in another hand if she turned up to me and said: Well, If you know a lot of this… so let`s talk about it a little bit: now, what did you think about that scene where that guy said this or that stuff to the girl and what it was your reaction when she came up to him and said……., uh! I think that I would be getting into a hot water by talking about it since I was lieing about my background in reading those kind of subject, don`t you think?

oh,oh! I guess this would be a backfire plan in the meanwhile, wouldn`t it be?
Jeff, on behalf of all of us eslpod followers, thanks a lot once more by such a great work among the esl Team.

my best regards to all of you whom gathering the eslblog;
from Massachusetts-USA,
preto.

I just think the same as Noha, also understand perfectly well what Criss said as my wife tell me the same Criss’s husband told her, so to everybody I know I tell that I am
listening ESL podcast and my English is going up every moment.
Jeff, this post is the most funny report I have ever read, what is so important if a man is reading Nelson Mandela biography? or Shakespeare?……
When i first met Cuca, my wife, she noticed that I was carring always a book under my arm (we were going to some clases then) and afterward she told me it was a good
impression for her about myself, nothing more.
Books was a matter of conversation very often, even now we talk about books, but never lie about what we were reading at that past moments.
We don’t fit with the BBC record, but we do fit with yours.

Well, hello everybody… here I am again and I’d like to speak out on this topic about what it is so impressive read Nelson Mandela’s biografy or Shakespeare…..

So, maybe nowadays with so many trobles going on in this crazy world and further more with such hurry up life’s style we don’t have much more time to appreciate some of those simply things that used to be appreciated in the past, but even though I am a 28 years old I clearly admit that back 30 or 40 years ago I would say that it’d be quite quite common a situation where a girl would be cheerful and probably falling in love with a boy to whom came up to her and began to recite beautyful and romantic poems… I think she might be amazing by listening him say distinct words when talking about global wide themes or even if he was talking about international greater leaders or highlight people.

Well, if this report from BBC was published in this era… for sure this should be a curious trend analized and then, a fact found out which it’d be a leaning from general thoughts of that era.

But today… as I said right above … with so many world problems and financial crisis, I doubt that to be characterized as a refined man just by knowing a little bit of shakespeare’s drama or mandela’s biografy still being a good feature. It became some sort of weird thing for some ones or none sense stuff for others.

Perhaps if a boy came up to a girl which one would was getting through a mortage trobles, and started to recipe poems or telling about shakespeare …. well, I think she would end up shooting in his face.

Sorry for my conclusion in my analized but that’s what has been heading the world’s news nowadays.

As consequence all of this, for sure we are going to see us asking what so important at knowing about mandela’s biografy and so forth.

thanks all of you followers of the eslblog which make this space wisely visited.

I’m listening ESL Podcast since about two years ago. I am 55 years old and I think is a little late for me to find out, or rather, is difficult that a woman falls in love with me. However I have experimented an strange thing about it.

I have a little female dog called ‘Perla’. When I’m listening a Jeff in English Café or a Jeff and Lucy in ESL Podcast, ‘Perla’ comes to room where the computer is located. ‘Perla’ stops at the door and looks at me with your head tilted to one side and her ears raised. She don’t dares to come in to the office. Probably because she only can understand Spanish language. I don’t know whether your face is because ‘Perla’ is falling in love with me or she thinks that I’m crazy.

When I push ‘pause’, she comes back to the living room but, when I push again ‘play’ she turns back to look at me with the same face. I don’t want to annoy her any more, that’s why, now I use the headphones. Can anyone of you tell me why my dog do this?. Or maybe she is falling in love with Jeff’s voice?

Dear elcomandant,
I really don’t care what your dog does or doesn’t when he or she is hearing to ESL Podcast although I really think your dog doesn’t understand neither spanish nor english,but that’s a different story.
Anyway,this is what I wanted to tell you:Don’t you dare say for the rest of your life that at your age is difficult that a woman falls in love with you,come on…Cheer up!It can’t be that bad…I mean,I can imagine that there might be some differences between Brad Pitt and you but don’t worry,that’s normal!!! I’m 32 and I’ve never found a single person in my life who confuses me with him either.(even though I really think that I’m a Brad Pitt look-alike..)
Don’t worry,be happy and you’ll look younger than you really are!!! Enjoy your life before it’s too late man!!! And learn English well with ESL!!!

I also think that sharing your own dream with your lover or girl friend is very important to develop relationship.
Even though it’s now important for you to have a lot of money and good house, having a dream for your life is the first value to consider,
in case a man & woman want to get married.

Really you are very kind. I appreciate your good mood and the words you say me. Comments like yours makes that I like more and more this blog.

But to be honest, I’m very happy with my wife. That’s why I don’t need any woman in my life. Although if by chance Angelina Jolie or Penélope Cruz or Jennifer López or Shalma Hayek fall in love with me, then I would have a real problem.

Anyway, I want to say you that I know that I am more handsome, taller, stronger and richer than Brad Pitt, and than you, of course. But never, neither you nor I will are so much as Jeff.

I do not believe you not a single word, even in the case if I understood anything here!
Moral: To many congratulations or praises on the same place and at the same time for somebody can not be good. Your work seams to me very nice and I wish to crash eventually bad lucky.
Question:
I have been listening ESLPod since last year and I haven´t found any improvement jet! Have I turn on my loudspeakers or something similar. I can´t hear anything!

Nothing to do with the topic we are talking about, but this morning I am very happy as tonight something is changing in my country. So we want to congratulate to the
vasc people who has done history with their votes yesterday and also to the galician as they have punished the big waste that some politicians has been doing with the public money.

If I were “Perla” I should be moving my tail all the mornig, this time even without hearing the voice of Jeff, but hearing him I should be even happier.